to be so fed up that I'm bleeding yet again?

[greygeese]

Honestly I could cry.

I started a previous thread about my awful GP and the hassles I've been having with them. Basically I've been on the depo injection for 6 months, and bleeding fir 4 of those.

If it was a few spots several times during the day, that would be ok. But this is more, at worst like a full on period (my periods pre depo have been increasingly heavy for the last 5-10 years).

I was given Norethisterone a few weeks ago. Had a week with no bleeding at all. It was brilliant. Albeit that was followed by the period from hell (clots nearly the size of my palm etc) but then another 5 days of no bleeding, til it started again today.

I hate it, and I know it's spoiling my relationship. He's generally very good about it, but having a girlfriend you can't touch for fear of her bleeding everywhere (sorry, probably tmi...).

I just want it to stop. I am praying for the menopause but I'm only early 40s so i think i may be waiting a while. I don't know what to do. GP advice has been so contradictory.

Could you change to the combined pill?

Yes, I'm trying to. So far the only surgery I've found locally that is taking new patients has really limited opening times, worse than my current GP. If I went there, I'd end up having to take a half day holiday for every appt, which isn't ideal.

Tranexamic Acid is wonderful stuff. But most of all you need a new GP. Good luck.

I asked about the pill last time I went.

A previous GP said if I kept bleeding, she'd recommend pill alongside the injection.

Then next one said no, you can't have both at the same time.

Then the third one I saw (you never see the sane Dr twice at my surgery...) said I should stop the injection and have the pill, but I couldn't start the pill for 8 weeks after my injection ran out and I'd have to come back then,once I'd had 2 normal cycles and then it would be prescribed.

Mirena has worked for me. Spotting at first, but nothing now. I had atrocious bleeding and it was really spoiling my life.
You will do better if you can get an appointment with a gynaecologist. The GP should refer you if you ask him/ her to, given your problems it would be very unreasonable not to.

Firstly if there is no practice manager at the moment who is "in charge"? Get an appointment with them, refuse to leave the surgery until you have one.

Go into the surgery with everything written down- all your appointments, your symptoms and the fact you're being told completely different things by each drs. Ask which dr in the surgery specialises in our problems and demand an appointment ASAP with them. If this doesn't work, I would be demanding a referal to the hospital.

It is a total pain for you but I think the only way you're going to get any help, is by talking time off work, going to the surgery and politely insisting something is done.
Look on their website also and see what it says about making complaints, and make sure you reference this when you are at the surgery.

There's nothing on the website about complaints.

I have already complained, in writing (as they don't take emails) to the GP at the other branch of the surgery who handles complaints. That letter detailed every visit I've made and every contradictory bit of advice I've had. I've not had any response yet (of course!) so my plan is still just to change GP.

I have no holiday leave left for this year so I'm slightly limited at present as to what I can do.

Does your work not allow you to have time off to go to the doctor?

Any time I take off I'd have to make up, up to 1-1.5 hours - but if it's beyond an hour and a half the expectation is you'd take a half day.

It takes me at least an hour to get to work, so unless I can get appts at 9am or earlier, or after 5pm (both impossible!) I have to take a half day.

Could you afford to go private.

Possibly. Probably not. I'm a LP so money is relatively tight.

Mirena is same hormones as depo injection though so might not help. can you do combined pill and take a couple of packs back to back?

Hi sorry didn't see you previous thread so I expect that this May have already been said but this is what I would expect to happen.
You need to examined to exclude other causes of unscheduled bleeding
So STI / other infections need to be ruled out - can be done by GP but probably done better bu a GU clinic.
Secondly I would expect some one to look at your cervix to ensure no other cause for bleeding.
Depending on age you may also need an endometrial sample / scan

If above all negative I would offer you a choice.
You can take the combined pill alongside the injection for 3 months to stop the bleeding and see if the injection works - at a year 70% have no periods.
If you have lost faith then you could try coil/ implant or pill.

Also I would expect that a GP should be able to do all above apart from the sample depending on area. If you are not getting anyone like above ask for a referral because it can not be assumed that the bleeding is definitely due to injection - it most likely is but you should be examined

Sorry must read OP more carefully.

Right you definitely need to have other causes ruled out . The injection is by far the likeliest cause but you have to rule out other causes . Is the problem that you cannot get an appt or is your GP not able to manage it?
There is a document produced by FSRH called unscheduled bleeding on hormonal contraception which provides guidelines for GP s on this.
If you cannot get an appt then write to practice manager and requests either a referral or appt with someone that can manage the situation

This might be a long shot but can you go to your local walk in centre and say that you're bleeding continuously? As in, say you're worried about the huge clots etc. I know people shouldn't abuse walk in centres and A&E and so on, but at least you'd be able to go in the evening or at the weekend and might get to see a different Dr or nurse. Could kick start things again as it sounds like your GP is useless.

I don't live in the UK at the moment - I'm in the US - but there is no way on earth you'd be left as you are here. Without going into the rights and wrongs of the insurance based system we have, you'd call an OB/GYN and see them pretty much the same day. I can't imagine how frustrating it must be to have so much bleeding and yet feel like no one in the medical profession is able to help you. But there will be a solution, don't give up hope. You just need to find the right Dr to help figure it out.

At the very least you need your iron levels checking.
You need a gynae referral - does your gp do phone consultations?
Unless you're likely to want more dc I'd push for an ablation. Changed my life :)

I've had no physical examination thus far at all.

The nurse who's done the injection has taken my bp but that's it.

6 years ago when i had a similar problem but was not on contraception, the GP I saw felt my lower stomach area and said my ovaries didn't seem swollen (?) and sent me for blood tests, which came back that i was very anaemic. I was given iron tablets but told to stop taking them if they made me sick (which they did, so I did. It was suggested that I could be sent for a scan if the Norethisterone didn't work, but it did so no more was said about that.

This time nothing.

GPs at my surgery won't speak over the phone, they insist on you making an appt, which can take weeks to try and get one that isn't at midday or 1430 or whatever!

I've no idea where the nearest walk in clinic is. Will try and find out. All sexual health etc clinics round here are u25 only though.

Hi greygeese Im really sorry to hear you are still having problems. Im on a mini pill called Zelleta and on the third month of taking it. I was alright on the first two blister packs but since last week after starting the third blister pack the week before ive had bleeding with awful period pain every day.
the Care Quality Commsision recently sprung a surprise visit in our town They put 3 quarters of our surgeries among the worst in the country. Apparently they will face regular inspections and there is a possibility they could be put into special measures. Have you thought about contacting the CQC. Because the service you have had is appalling And you havent even got a proper way to complain. Why havent they got an e mail function for this. Its not 1984 FFS!

I can't bear another 5 years of basically constant periods, which is what I've had since just before my 2nd injection.

You need a different birth control then. Depo isn't good for long term, so 5 years on it isn't really a sustainable plan anyway.

Different BC's do different things. Depo and the nexplanon implant have the same hormone. One stopped my periods, one I still have regular lighter period with.

If you were bleeding before BC to begin with, I'm not sure what to suggest. But if this only happened after the injection, I think it's safe to say that the BC is causing it and you need a new method.

First, wait out this injection until the time period is up on it. Then look into alternatives that don't have etonogestrel in them and see if they work. If you're both certain you want no more babies, can you stop BC and have him get the snip?

Im currently on Zelleta Its a mini pill with a 12 hour window rather than a 3 hour one.

Ive been on it since mid September. The first two months my periods were pretty normal as in the same as they are when im not on the Pill but now im on the third blister pack its slightly different more like heavy spotting and im still getting period pain.

when i was much younger it was the combined Pill. Femodene and Logynon. Then i had Norplant which was the original contraceptive implant (i had that in my arm for 3 years but had it removed after DH and i hadnt had sex because i wasnt bunging myself up with hormones for nothing. Had the Depo injection for 5 years between 30 and 35.
And then this pill over the last two months.

I knew 20 years ago at 21 that i didnt want children. In my mid 20s i asked to be sterilised and was told i was too young. Told the same again at 30.
How come women are told they dont know their own minds when they say they dont want children but arent told this when they say they want DC? Im now 41 and i havent changed my mind on the motherhood front. From what i can recall my DM went through the menopause at 47 so mine may not be too far away.

Sorry if it sounds like ive repeated myself. Ive just copied and pasted that from another thread.